I always find these a good way to find out a little about each other. Just be brief and tell us what your career is and why you like the outdoors, etc. I will add mine after we get a few. Feel free to loosen up and relax.

I am a state park ranger in Minnesota, who grew up in New York, and lived outside of Ithaca until 1988. I first came to the mountains during the summer of 1964, when I went to camp near Old Forge. In 1971 I got involved in volunteer Search and Rescue, (SAR) after the search for 8-year-old Douglas Legg, at what is now known as Santanoni, near Newcomb. (He was never found.) Over the years, I was a licensed guide in the Inlet area, and we owned a cabin and about 200 acres near Moriah/North Hudson. I was good friends with the legendary interior Forest Ranger, Peter Fish from Keene, and worked many searches with my dogs in the Adirondacks. In 1988, we moved to Minnesota so my wife could go into the Lutheran Ministry, and I finally was able to attain my goal of becoming a park ranger. I was a county ranger for 10 years and now work for the state. (Pete Fish was sort of my mentor.)

I have not been back to New York since my folks moved south in 1993, nor to the Adirondacks since 1988. I really want to come back for a visit, especially after the BIKE magazine article about riding in the Inlet-Old Forge area. The trails the author described, I hiked on as a kid!

Oh yeah, I am 49, married for 26 years, 3 (adopted) adult daughters and 3 grandkids.

BTW, the picture in my avatar is now me. It was the renowned Vermont State Police SAR Team after a winter search on Mt. Mansfield. I just thought it was a really cool picture, but now there's one of me on skis in Jay Cooke State Park, south of Duluth, MN.

Stay safe,
Hans Erdman, WEMT
Sand Dunes State Forest
Zimmerman, MN

Last edited by Trailpatrol; 12-25-2004 at 10:08 PM..
Reason: New Avatar

I'll save the full biography... here's my short but passionate hiking history:

It started summer 2002 in Vermont (Branche/Brook Pond area). Went hiking with a few old friends (Jeff and Dave). Night hiked to the lean-to, woke early the next day and gathered wood (and had a short day hike to the beaver damn). Built an enormous fire, so big it was 90+F in the lean-to and Jeff and Dave passed out!

Next adventure, which fed the hiking demon, was a short hike up Sleeping Beauty Mountain (east shore of Lake George) to watch the meteor shower (Leanid? sp?). What a great weekend.

So, I waited all winter, started doing the stairs everyday at work instead of the elevator to start getting in shape. In March 2003 I made my first peak Cascade, in snow shoes on a 45F sunny day (didn't even need a coat). The view was awesome and I was officially hooked.

The rest of the story is told via photos on my hiking photo journal webpage. There were numerous night hikes over the summer (boredom hikes I call them) which I never bothered bringing the camera. All told, I did A LOT of hiking this year! Looking forward to even more next year.

I am 17 (18 in one month), and have been interested in the wilderness, and outdoor sports for about two years now.

I grew up as a city boy in North Carolina, and hated any aspect of the outdoors. As I reached my pre-teen and early teen years, I got heavily involved in drinking and/or drugs, so my father sent me away to a wilderness program in hopes of straightening me out.

It didn't really work, but it got me interested in the outdoors, and taught me a great ammount about myself and the wilderness.

I got in quite a bit more trouble, and was sent to a boarding school for "at-risk" boys. I steadily grew there, and became a staff member in some respect. I took that position and pressured the school to make a wilderness program within it's regular program, and eventually was successful. I ran that for about three months and then came home for good.

I have had one mishap a few months ago (thanks Kevin), but other than that I am doing great, and have gotten more and more interested in hiking and other outdoor sports. Hopefully I can get out a little more when I get a car.

I am 48, grew up in N.E. Pa. and have always been interested in the outdoors. I lived on the edge of Hazleton, which is the highest town in the state and after school would always get the dog and wander off for about 5-10 miles almost every day. I was in scouting and made Life Scout just before my 16th birthday. The summer I turned 16 I hiked the Appalacian Trail from Close to where it crosses from Md. to Pa. and the entire length through Pa. to N.Y and back to Blue Mtn in Pa. After school I went into the Army for 9y/8m/11d and that tore the boy scouts right out of me except for my love of the outdoors. During that time I got to see (but not as a tourist) Asia, Africa, South and Central America up real close and personal. I got to camp out at -70F for the first time in my life as well as see 3 distictnctly different kinds of jungle. I learned more about survival and a lot of other useful things than 100 people would learn in a lifetime. After that I moved to Alaska till 3 1/2 yrs ago when I moved to Texas. Now I am trying for a bit of a career change and get back to the outdoors. I like computers and science related subject a lot and have been doing a lot of tech work on the side. I can't wait to get back to where I can stretch my legs again without sweating 5 gallons a day.

My dad introduced me and my brother to the pleasures of bping in 1969. We had always car camped (cheapest vacation going) and loved it. But the experience of being out in the woods away from everyone else was infectious.

My first hike was a loop around Stratton Mt/Stratton Pond in VT. It was the first hike I took my sons on too. I go back every year and hike that loop. It's different every time.

Since '69 I have managed to learn a little and travel a little. My most recent big trips have been with my brother (still hiking together after all these years). He is a Highpointer and we went out to the Absarooka/Beartooths in MT to attempt Granite Peak in August....that's a story for another time.

I grew up in the country/woods in Grafton, NY. We(my brother and friends) spent a lot of time at Grafton Lakes State Park, and would often hike around the lakes and ponds all throughout the area so I've always been pretty familiar with being outdoors.

My first dak experience I was 17. I worked at the Word of Life college and camp in Schroon Lake, NY for the summer in the campus laundry facility. They were having an outing/dayhike. Giant Mt. It was my first High Peak, and oddly enough, the last one I have done so far, at the time of this post. I recall sitting at the top of Roaring Brook Falls.

Loved it.

And once I achieved the peak, Whew, Awesome!!! Fell in love with the Adirondacks and knew I had to see as much of them as I could, if not all of it.

I've done countless day hikes, night hikes(by moonlight, no headlamp), a whole plethera of weekend excursions, and one week long into the Five Ponds Wilderness Region. I've done a whole bunch of High Peaks. Most of them more than once and some of them a few times. So I total 12 peaks at last count.

Can't get enough of the outdoors!

In addition to my Backpacking and Hiking, I've also done a bit of caving and rock climbing(I'm a bit of a thrill seeker)

Other than that, I was in the U.S. Army for 3 years at Ft. Bragg, NC (Helicopter Mechanic)1985-88, Got my A.A.S. in Aviation Maintenance Technology from Eastern New Mexico University in Roswell, NM(U.F.O. Country)1990-92, and was in The N.Y.S. National Guard for 1 year 2000-2001, and during that time was part of the first group to be deployed to the World Trade Center on 9/11.

So that's basically me. Kevin can fill you in on the rest of the craziness we've been through together over the years. Hope to see some of you out there on the trails, and maybe even get together and do some hiking .

Hi all! I liked reading a little about you. I'm 29 and started hiking the high peaks last year when a friend said, "lets do Marcy!" We ended up hiking Phelps because we didn't have enough time and I've been hooked ever since. Just did Marcy last Saturday, #24. You can read about that and some other lessons learned in one of the other threads...

I work full-time as an engineering assistant at a local engineering company and am a part-time student working on my BSEE; I graduate in June and can't wait. I should be single again by the end of this year - legally separated right now (no kids). I hike alone and am hoping to meet Mr. Right on the trails.

I love being outdoors and enjoy many different activities including hiking, snowshoeing, xc-skiing, kayaking, horseback riding, sailing, fishing, hunting, cooking, baking, gardening, reading, building snowmen, and almost anything active outside. I'm heading to New Zealand with school 11/21/03 for almost a month and hope to get in some great hiking. I have a zest for life and love of learning and looking for someone with similar interests and energy.

Jeff, I grew up in Albany, lived in Petersburg and if all goes well with my builder, I should be moving to Grafton soon. I love the country and the peace.

Sorry if this sounds a little like a personal ad; I've written too many of them... See ya on the trails!

I am currently a network engineer working for NY State in Albany. I enjoy it. I used to work as a geologist for environmental consulting firms cleaning up hazardous waste sites, but we cleaned them all up and I got laid off. Married with one 9-year old daughter. Some day, possibly, I see myself owning a motel or B&B somewhere, in the ADKs or maybe on the New England coast. We'll close down for the winter and go someplace warm. I don't want to work 8-5 in an office forever.

I got started outdoors in diapers when my family went car camping for all our summer vacations. I fell in love with the Adks. at early age. I just love being in the mountains, whether on top of a peak, along a peaceful lake or pond, or just in a beautiful forest somewhere. I can't explain why I love it, just love the beauty of nature I guess.

I'm 49 and a college professor, with two grown kids (27 and 21). Spent a month backpacking the Alaskan backcountry five years ago and it rekindled my interest in hiking and backpacking that I had left behind in order to raise a family. My son (the 21 year old) turned me on to the high peaks, three years ago and I have since climbed 32 of them. Hoping to finish my 46 next year (Allen, Redfield, Santanoniies and the Great Range to go). Since my first high peak (Marcy and Skylight in 2000), I have revisited Alaska for another two week adventure. Each area has its own appeal, but I love them both dearly.

Looking forward to being a part of this forum. Looks to be a great one.

I'm Chris if you didnt guess by the username, but anyway on to the topic! I love outdoor activities, ive not done much of it to be honest apart from when I used to be a member of the "cubs" as a child. Me and friends have a big get together every year where we just travel miles and go camping for a week or so, last year we went to the lake destrict (its in the Uk as am I) We always have some great long walks and its a great thing to look forward to each year! Apart from that I am interetsed in survival, witch realtes to this forum in some manner I suppose, I love all stuff like that.

Anyway at the moment im a part time student, studying for an MCSE, although hope to land a job of some sort soon. Apart from that i'm completly Self-Unemployed!

I've been searching for a decent hiking forum for a while now, and man am I glad I found this one.
I'm 13 (almost 14) and live in (unfortunately) NJ. I've been hiking in the adirondacks for six years, and just got my 46er this summer on Allen. I'm in ninth grade, and i absolutely love the outdoors. As far as I can tell, I'm probably the youngest member here, so its kind of intimidating...

Im Steve,
Ill be 58 in a few days. I am retired from the USNR (CB's) and for the rest of this year live in pittsfield ma.
My wife of 33 years and i have 2 adult children, one in Lee Ma, and one in Milton Vt. We have 4 grandkids and my daughter tells us to be ready for more! (last is 6 days old)
Ive been hiking since i can remember and also am an avid hunter and fisher.
It seems like a few folks here are from the capital district area.
The wive and i are in the process of building a new house in Stephentown N.Y. and hope to be in by next june. I spend a lot of time on the a.t. in vt, ma. and ct. .
Regards to all Steveo

A network administrator living in Jay, NY - close to the mountains, with Whiteface and Esther greeting me everytime it's clear enough to see them from the house. Pretty sweet.

I'm a multiple round 46'er with well over 200 High Peak summits, and working on my winter round now.

Also a 46'er correspondent which is a job I really enjoy - especially letters from the young'uns........

I'm almost strictly a day-hiker now.

Nothing special in terms of ability or knowledge but I have a profound love of the mountains, especially the beloved Adirondacks. Please treat them and your fellow hikers with respect when you visit them.

This is great! I think it is really nice that we have all these responses so far. If you are just reading these and haven't posted yours yet please do so. It would be really good to see everone registered's bio. If you haven't regestered yet do it now and post as I'm sure you probably keep coming back anyway but are just holding off for some reason.

Hi--my name is Doug and I'm an alcoholic...wait--wrong post. All kidding aside, I'm 32 and love the outdoors. I went to college to be a history teacher, but dropped out in my junior year to ski in colorado. Seemed like a great idea at the time. Hung out in boulder for a while, then my father, here in NY, came down with als, better known as lou gerhigs disease. I moved back here in 95 and inherited a tavern in Oswego ny. I ran it until last may, when I sold it, and decided to become a mountain guide. Started all that, and was going to finish my training in the cordillera blanca region in Peru, but it got cancelled. So I went back to school for nursing. I know, how did that work out? But anyway, I finish in june, and then I think I might start my bid on the 7 summits on kili. I've currently got 30 high peaks done, and plan on doing alot of backcountry skiing, when you can pry me away from whiteface and gore this season. I'm also on the sar team here in cny, and participate on most of the searches for lost people. I found my first living person last week, after she had been lost for three days in freezing weather. Got to use my wfr skills. Good thread.

Originally posted by hillman1 I'm also on the sar team here in cny, and participate on most of the searches for lost people.

Doug,
Are you in the Pioneers or Wilderness SAR? I was one of the founders of Wilderness back in 1971, when it was based in Tompkins County (Ithaca) and was called Tompkins County SAR Team. In 1979, after college, we moved it up to Cortland County and changed the name, and then in 1988 I moved to Minnesota and WS&R moved to N. Syracuse. If you are with the Oswego County Pioneers, is Huey Parrow still around? He and Dave Green were two of the orginals who were on the Legg search at Sanatnoni in '71.

I'm 36, married with 2 great kids (wife's not bad either ). I've been actively hiking since 1998 or so and have gotten progressivly more addicted ever since (as have the rest of the family). It's something we do together (most of the time) and enjoy. Our primary focus in the last year or so has been to complete the 46.

We currently have anywhere from 9 (for me) - 15 (for my wife) left, with the kids in between. We plan to finish (all 4 of us, along with my brother) on Whiteface on Labor Day 2004. My wife and I will be 37, My son - 13 and my daughter 11.

Our family "treat" for completing the 46 will be a trip to Colorado for a couple 14ers (this was decided by the kids, btw). We all have similar, but slightly differing goals and aspirations. My son has aspirations of real moutaineering when he gets older and my daughter just wants to be out there where the wind is in her hair and she feels free.

By trade, I am a Medicolegal Death Investigator for a large Metropolitan Medical Examiners Office. Yes, it's kinda like CSI with none of the glory and all of the mess . I also train and compete in triathlons (Olympic distance) and coach swimming.

Born and raised in "the sticks". We lived on top of a hill in a ridge of hills in westren New York. A dirt road and my "best friend" lived next door.. three quarters of a mile away below a small knoll on the hill. I could see no neighbors from my house.

We were Boy Scouts (got to Life), played in the streams and woods, hunted. trapped, camped, tapped trees, cut wood, did chores, milked, all that good ol' country boy stuff!

Divorced 23 years with 2 adult male childs... good guys and I love em' ta death!!!

Director of Ski and Snowboard School in winter.. special projects co-ordinanator in off-season... that is a very broad definition.. meaning anything , anywhere, anytime..

actually at a 4 season resort ... work outside just about everyday and have all my life.

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